Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Synthetic, Multi-Layer, Self-Oscillating Vocal Fold Model Fabrication
Published on: December 2, 2011
A virtual castrato?
Ann-Christine Mecke1, Johan Sundberg, Bernhard Richter
1Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. mecke@irrelevanz.de
Abstract:
In this investigation the voice source from trained boy singers was processed with a transfer function that contained the singer's formant cluster of a bass, a baritone, or a tenor. The modified voices were evaluated by a panel of highly specialized experts. The experts were asked 1) to assess how similar the examples sounded to the voice of the last castrato Alessandro Moreschi, and 2) to rate how similar they thought the examples were to their imagination of an 18th-century castrato voice. For both questions, the voices with tenor formants produced significantly higher ratings than the other voice types. However, the mean ratings for the second question were generally lower than those for the first.
Related Concept Videos
Virtual Work
In static equilibrium, a body can experience an imaginary or virtual movement, such as displacement or rotation. The virtual work done by a force is equal to the dot product of force and virtual displacement in the direction of the force. When it comes to virtually rotating a...
Larynx
Anatomy of the Larynx
The larynx consists of various components, including cartilage, muscles, and vocal cords. Its structure includes three large unpaired cartilages—the thyroid, cricoid, and epiglottis—and three smaller paired cartilages—the arytenoids, corniculates, and...
Impression Management Techniques IV: Altercasting
Ascites
Pharynx
Nasopharynx
The nasopharynx, bordered by the conchae of the nasal cavity, serves exclusively as an air conduit. In its superior region, the pharyngeal tonsils or adenoids are located. These tonsils are clusters of lymphoid reticular tissue akin to a lymph node. The precise...
External Female Genitals

